Thanks For The Memories
by Piro-chan
Summary: One sleepless night, shortly after Naruto, Sakura, Sai and Yamato had confronted him Sasuke recounts some of the events leading up to his current situation. Will he find something new while he sorts out his past? Implied NaruSasu. One Shot


Robyn Trivett

May 25th 2007

**A/N: **Hello everybody! This is Piro-chan's first fanfic! Yay! throws party streamers

While this isn't a songfic, I did base this fanfic (very loosely) on Fall Out Boy's song, 'Thnks Fr Th Mmrs'. I'd like to dedicate this to my good friend, Kyuubi Madness, who said that I should write more, so here you go, Brooke. Check out her stuff.

**WARNING:**** This fanfic contains (though very little) one-sided yaoi (or boy x boy). Don't like? Don't read. Simple as that.**

**Summary: **One sleepless night, shortly after Naruto, Sakura, Sai and Yamato had confronted him; Sasuke recounts some of the events leading up to his current situation. Will he find something new while he sorts out his past? Implied NaruSasu. (One Shot)

**Disclaimer:**** Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto, and does not, has never and will never belong to me. Sad but true.**

**Thanks For The Memories**

'Who the hell does he think he is? -- Showing up almost three years after I distinctly told him I wanted nothing more to do with him or that pathetic excuse for a village.' I slowly shifted my body to the other side of my rickety bed; the mattress dug uncomfortably into my side and the frame gave a feeble squeak as I came to rest on my stomach, but none of this derailed my train of thought.

For what seemed like the thousandth time that night, I was suddenly swept away from the confines of my dank room and onto a rocky, plateau-like statue carved in the likeness of the Shodaime.

"Sasuke!"

Even with the waterfall's obnoxious cries for attention, his voice echoed across the vast canyon between us.

"Are you going to run away from me?"

I stopped, my foot barely an inch from the ground. After pausing for a moment, I began to slowly pivot around to stare into his fear-filled eyes.

He had been following me for quite sometime already, and I was beginning to have a hard time controlling my temper and emotions, so I composed my face as best I could and uttered a simple greeting of "Hey, clumsy idiot."

We merely stared at each other; the canyon – no matter how open it was in reality – seemed to close in on us with each passing moment. I continued to stare into his bright blue eyes and realized that beyond the emotion of 'sorrow' and 'horror' there was also something else there – buried beneath the surface. I could have been mistaken, but it looked almost like 'reminiscence'.

I figured that the unbearable silence would never be broken unless I made the first move – which was odd considering who I was dealing with – so I muttered, in what I hoped was a calm and collected voice, "I've already told Sakura, but…" I paused as I tried to find the right words "I don't want you to concern yourself with me anymore."

His eyes widened in disbelief.

"Hey now, what's with that face?" I asked in a mocking voice – a voice that sounded a lot more confident than I felt; a voice I had learned to use on a regular basis. Then adding a bit of snide laughter as an after thought, I once again resumed staring into his remorseful eyes, which were now the widest I'd seen them so far. From the distance between us, I could not tell if he was crying, or if he was merely perspiring, but I assumed that it was probably a little of both.

"…Why?" He whispered, "Sasuke…"

His tone was so serious I was slightly taken aback, but I quickly recomposed my face into an impassive frown.

"Why did you have to become like this?!" He screamed across the falls, his voice bouncing off the canyon rocks.

I waited a few seconds before giving my reply: "What does it matter to you what I become?" He shuddered slightly. "I have my own path to follow," I continued, "No matter what it is, nobody has the right to tell me what to do."

At this, his wide eyes narrowed into slits and he took on a face of defiance.

"I'll keep it simple," the taunting tone in my voice cut through again before I once again became completely serious, "I am not going to associate with Konoha anymore. Go home."

I had never seen Naruto look more hurt or frightened than in that instant. His eyes opened to a seemingly impossible size; his mouth fell slightly agape – looks of disbelief and terror mingled about his face.

Just when it seemed as though he would never speak again, he ground his teeth together, opened his eyes wider still and said, his voice shaking, "Everyone…Everyone risked their lives…to come after you!" His hands clenched into fists.

With an apathetic wave of my hand, I said, "Well, good for them." I then proceeded to turn my back on him and walk away. I knew, however, that he wouldn't take my advice and just go home. The next thing I knew, he had jumped me and _that_ fight had began.

'No.' I told myself as my surroundings came back into vivid focus. 'No, there's no need to remember that now…' But it was futile to keep _those_ memories away –

Not when I had remembered that much so far.

Graphic flashes and muffled voices soon filled my head, and I soon decided sleep would be unachievable that night. So I lay awake, until the late hours of the night turned into the early hours of the morning – all the while, staring out the small, barred window residing above my cot. Both the stars and moon seemed to be laughing at me from their superior place in the sky – their pale faces seemed to say, "We know what your trying to hide; don't bother. We've seen what you've done, and there's no point in hiding it from yourself either.

"Right." I sighed.

Even though I knew it was crazy to be caught talking to the sky, it released a sense of calm that I had not felt in an eternity, and for the first time I allowed myself to fully reminisce. My thoughts became so intoxicating, I almost wished that I could escape to them, and never return to the present. And when my thoughts inevitably traveled back to _him_, I realized that my pale cheeks had become slightly red and my eyes had become puffy and wet. After recovering from the shock of this sudden out break, I took a deep breath, quelled the tears building up inside me, and whispered, "Well, Naruto. Wherever you are, thanks for the memories." I exhaled deeply, and any ill will I had harbored against him seemed to vanish in that instant, and I was able to blissfully drift off to sleep while remembering what I had forbid myself for so long.

**End**

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